JP2722420B2 - Photosensitive material processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a light-sensitive material processing apparatus for processing a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a light-sensitive material or a light-sensitive material).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material after exposure (hereinafter referred to as a "light-sensitive material") is subjected to processing according to its type. For example, for a color negative film, color development, bleaching, fixing, washing and stabilization are sequentially performed.

In such processing, a photosensitive material processing apparatus such as an automatic developing machine is usually used, and a developing solution, a bleaching solution, and a fixing solution (bleach-fix) are placed in each of a plurality of processing tanks provided in the apparatus. This is accomplished by sequentially immersing the photosensitive material in washing water and a stabilizing solution.

[0004] In recent years, the development of small-scale processing systems using small developing machines called minilabs has been advanced, and film development and printing have been carried out not only in developing laboratories equipped with large developing machines but also in photo shops. ing.

In such a small-scale processing system, processing can be performed easily and quickly, the amount of replenishment and drainage of processing liquid can be further reduced, and processing efficiency can be increased.
It is required to obtain excellent photographic properties, to shorten the processing time, to reduce the size of the apparatus, and the like.

However, at present, it is difficult to satisfy both of these problems. For example, with respect to the water washing process, if a multi-stage cascade water washing system is used in which a plurality of water washing tanks are arranged side by side and sequentially passed through these tanks, the water washability is improved, and good photographic properties can be obtained. The amount of replenishment and the amount of drainage are large, and the device is also large. Conversely, if the replenishing amount and drainage amount of the washing water are reduced, the washing time must be prolonged in order to obtain good washing performance.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a photosensitive material processing apparatus which can reduce the amount of replenishment and drainage of a processing solution with a simple structure and obtain good photographic properties.

[0008]

This and other objects are achieved by the present invention which is defined below as (1) and (2).

(1) A photosensitive material processing apparatus for processing by passing a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material into a processing tank filled with a processing solution, wherein the apparatus is attached to and detached from the side of the processing tank where the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is loaded. A housing provided with a processing chamber for storing the processing liquid therein, a drain port installed inside the housing, and an outlet for the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the housing, A blade disposed to shield the outlet.

(2) A photosensitive material processing apparatus for processing by passing a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material into a processing tank filled with a processing solution, wherein the apparatus is detachable from the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material discharge side of the processing tank. A housing in which a processing chamber for storing the processing liquid is formed, a liquid supply port for supplying a new processing liquid to the processing chamber, and a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the housing. A photosensitive material processing apparatus, comprising a blade installed at an entrance to shield the entrance.

[0011]

【Example】

Hereinafter, a photosensitive material processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional side view showing a configuration example of a photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the optical material processing apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the photosensitive material S
The description of the transfer means and the heater is omitted.

A photosensitive material processing apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2
A has a plurality of processing tanks. The illustrated photosensitive material processing apparatus 1A is an apparatus for processing color paper, and has a developing tank 2, a bleach-fix tank 3, and a washing tank 4 arranged in this order from the left in FIG.

In the developing tank 2, bleach-fix tank 3 and washing tank 4, a developing solution, a bleach-fix solution and washing water are respectively filled to predetermined levels.

In each of the processing tanks 2 to 4, a plurality of transport rollers 51 for transporting the photosensitive material S along a predetermined route are provided. At the bottom of each of the processing tanks 2 to 4, a guide 52 which is curved in an arc and changes the direction of the photosensitive material S along the curved surface is provided. Such a transport roller 51
And the guide 52, the photosensitive material S is supplied to each of the processing tanks 2 to
4 is conveyed along a U-shaped path.

A crossover roller 53 is provided above the boundary between the developing tank 2 and the bleach-fix tank 3 and between the bleach-fix tank 3 and the washing tank 4.

The transport roller 51 and the crossover roller 53 are driven and rotated by a drive system (not shown).

The transport roller 51 and the guide 52 as described above.
The crossover roller 53 constitutes a means for transporting the photosensitive material S.

The material of the transport roller 51 and the crossover roller 53 includes, for example, various rubbers such as neoprene and EPT rubber, elastomers such as sunplane, thermolan, Hytrel, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene and ABS resin. , PPO, nylon, polyacetal (POM), phenolic resin, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyether sulfone (PES), polyether ether ketone (PEE)
K), various resins such as Teflon, ceramics such as alumina, metals having corrosion resistance such as stainless steel, titanium and Hastelloy, or a combination thereof.

Above the bleach-fix tank 3, a supply pipe 61 for supplying fresh bleach-fix solution into the bleach-fix tank 3 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, near the upper part of the bleach-fixing tank 3, a drain pipe 62 penetrating the side wall thereof is provided. The end of the drainage pipe 62 in the bleach-fix tank 3 is
It is connected to a drain pipe 13 described later via a connector 15.

In each of the processing tanks 2 to 4,
A heater 7 for heating the treatment liquid to an appropriate temperature (for example, 25 to 50 ° C.) is provided. As this heater, an ordinary sheath heater or ceramic heater may be used, but it is preferable to use a sheet heating element described in Japanese Patent Application No. 02-223768. This planar heating element has good thermal efficiency, and because of its shape does not take up installation space,
This contributes to downsizing of the device.

On the loading side of the photosensitive material S in the bleach-fixing tank 3, there is provided a processing chamber 9 in which the photosensitive material S is processed.
Is formed. A bleach-fix solution 31 is contained in the processing chamber 9.

The volume of the processing chamber 9 is about 0.1 to 20% of the volume of the bleach-fixing tank 3 in which the housing 8 is installed, and especially about 1 to 10%.
% Is preferable. If it is less than 0.1%, the processing in the processing chamber 9 becomes insufficient. On the other hand, if it exceeds 20%, the proportion of the space occupied by the housing 8 in the bleach-fixing tank 3 becomes large, so that the range that can be installed in the existing processing tank becomes narrow.

An entrance 10 and an exit 11 through which the photosensitive material S passes are formed at the upper and lower portions in FIG. 1 of the housing 8, respectively. The inlet 10 is located above the level of the bleach-fix solution 30 in the bleach-fix tank 3, and the outlet 11 is located below the level of the bleach-fix solution 30.

At the outlet 11, a pair of flexible blades 12 are installed with their tips facing downward.
The blade 12 is formed of a thin member, particularly a thin member having a shape whose thickness gradually decreases toward the tip. When the photosensitive material S does not pass through, the tips of both blades 12 are in close contact with each other, and the bleaching and fixing are performed. The flow of the liquids 30 and 31 is substantially blocked (sealing function).

When the photosensitive material S passes, the tips of the two blades 12 that are in close contact with each other are pushed and spread by the leading end of the photosensitive material S, and the photosensitive material S passes between them. At this time, the liquid adhering to the surface of the photosensitive material S is wiped off by sliding with the blade tip (squeeze function), and is prevented from being brought in. When the photosensitive material S passes between the blades 12, as shown in FIG. 2, a small gap 120 having a thickness of about the thickness of the photosensitive material S is provided between the blades 12 near both side ends of the photosensitive material S. Is formed, but the bleach-fixing solution 30 flows into the processing chamber 9 through the gap 120.

Examples of the constituent material of the blade 12 include natural rubber, isoprene rubber, chloroprene rubber, butyl rubber, fluorine rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, silicone rubber, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, urethane rubber, Various rubbers such as sulfurized rubber, acrylic rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, silicone resin, soft polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene (especially medium or low density PE), polypropylene, fluorine resin, ionomer resin, thermolan,
Soft resins such as elastomers such as sunplane, milastomer, and Hytrel are exemplified.

Even if the photosensitive material S slides on the blade 12,
There is almost no adverse effect such as scratches on the emulsion surface, but if this is not negligible or if the sliding resistance is to be further reduced, the inner surface of the blade 12 is subjected to a smoothing treatment, Surface treatment such as coating with a lubricant such as fluoroethylene (Teflon) can also be performed.

The installation angle of the blade 12 (the angle between the blade 12 and the photosensitive material S) is about 10 to 80 ° on average, and particularly about 30 to 80 ° on average.
Preferably, it is about 60 °.

The contact surface pressure between the blades 12 is 10 to 2
It is preferably set to about 000 g / cm ² , particularly preferably about 20 to 200 g / cm ² . With such contact surface pressure, a better squeezing function and sealing function can be obtained.

The outlet 11 may be provided with two or more pairs of blades 12.

The outlet 11 is not limited to a pair of blades 12 as shown in the figure, but may be a single blade. In this case, the tip of the blade comes into contact with the edge of the outlet 11 on the side where the blade is not installed, and this edge is preferably a smooth surface.

A drain pipe 13 for discharging the bleach-fix solution 31 by overflow is provided in the housing 8 so as to penetrate the side wall of the housing. The end of the drain pipe 13 on the processing chamber 9 side is
A drain port 14 is formed, and the other end is connected to a drain pipe 62 via a connector 15.

The drain pipe 13 is installed such that the drain port 14 is located below the level of the bleach-fix solution 30.
As a result, the liquid level of the bleach-fix solution 31 in the housing 8 becomes lower than the liquid level of the bleach-fix solution 30.

A locking member 16 and a spacer 17 which are bent in a hook shape are fixed to such a housing 8. The housing 8 is detachably attached to the bleach-fixing tank 3. Here, "removably installed" refers to being installed so as to be separable with respect to the processing tank. For example, in addition to being locked by the locking member 16 as shown in the drawing, screwing or bolting, arbitrary fitting It also includes a combined structure.

The spacer 17 has a function of maintaining the posture of the housing 8 vertically.

The housing 8 is not limited to being mounted on the tank wall of the bleach-fixing tank 3, but may be mounted on a rack (not shown) holding the rollers 51 and 53 and the guide 52. If this rack is detachable from the bleach-fix tank 3, the housing 8 is installed detachably from the bleach-fix tank 3.

As described above, since the housing 8 is detachable, it can be easily installed in a processing tank of an existing photosensitive material processing apparatus.

Next, the usage and operation of the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1A will be described.

With each of the processing tanks 2 to 4 filled with a predetermined processing liquid, each heater 7 is operated to control the temperature of each processing liquid.

A housing 8 is attached to the photosensitive material carry-in side of the bleach-fixing tank 3, and drain pipes 62 and 13 are connected by a connector 15. The processing chamber 9 is filled with a bleach-fix solution.

When processing the photosensitive material S, the liquid supply pipe 61
Then, a fresh bleach-fixing solution is replenished into the bleach-fixing tank 3. The replenishment amount of the bleach-fixing solution is ^{20 to 10} per m ² of the light-sensitive material.
It is preferably about 0 ml, particularly about 30 to 60 ml. Such a replenishing amount is about 30 to 70% of the replenishing amount in the case where the conventional housing 8 is not provided, and even with such a replenishing amount, it is possible to obtain the same or higher processability as the conventional one. it can.

The replenishment of the bleach-fixing solution is preferably performed in synchronization with the processing of the photosensitive material S.

On the other hand, the transport roller 51 and the crossover roller 53 are driven and rotated to transport the photosensitive material S. As shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, the photosensitive material S that has passed through the developing tank 2
After passing through the crossover roller 53, the bleach-fixing solution enters the processing chamber 9 from the inlet 10 of the housing 8, descends and is immersed in the bleach-fixing solution 31, and further passes between the blades 12 provided at the outlet 11. The water enters the inside 30, is inverted by the guide 52, rises up, is pulled up from the bleach-fixing solution 30, and moves to the next washing tank 4 via the crossover roller 53.

Since the developing solution adheres to the photosensitive material S after passing through the developing tank 2, the developing solution is carried into the bleach-fixing solution 31 in the processing chamber 9, and the bleach-fixing solution 31 is deteriorated. . As described above, the bleach-fix solution 31 is sacrificed and deteriorated, thereby preventing the bleach-fix solution 30 which mainly performs the bleach-fix process from being deteriorated, improving the processing efficiency, and replenishing the bleach-fix solution and draining the solution. The amount is reduced. Good photographic properties can be obtained even with such a low replenishment amount.

When the photosensitive material S passes between the blades 12, the bleach-fixing solution 31, which has adhered to the surface of the photosensitive material S and has much deterioration, is wiped off by the excellent squeezing function of the blade, and is transferred to the bleach-fixing solution 30. Carry-on is prevented.

When the photosensitive material S passes between the blades 12, the blades 1 near both ends of the photosensitive material S
Between the two, a slight gap 120 of about the thickness of the photosensitive material S is formed. However, as described above, since the liquid level of the bleach-fixing solution 31 is lower than the liquid level of the bleach-fixing solution 30, the head difference As a result, the bleach-fixing solution 30 flows through the processing chamber 9 through the gap 120.
Flows into. The increased amount of the bleach-fixing solution 31 is discharged from the drain port 14 to the outside of the tank through the drain pipes 13 and 62 by overflow.

After the processing of the photosensitive material S is completed, the bleach-fixing solution 31 hardly flows into the bleach-fixing solution 30 due to the sealing function of the blade 12, so that the next time the photosensitive material is processed, Good photographic properties can be obtained with a low replenishment amount.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional side view showing another example of the construction of the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention. In describing the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1B shown in the figure, the description of the same items as in the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1A will be omitted.

In the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1B, the bleach-fixing tank 3
A housing 18 similar to the above-described housing 8 is also provided on the unloading side of the photosensitive material S.
Is installed. In the processing chamber 19 of the housing 18,
A bleach-fix solution 32 is contained.

For the same reason as described above, the volume of the processing chamber 19 is 0.1 to 0.1 times the volume of the bleach-fixing tank 3 in which the housing 18 is installed.
It is preferably about 20%, particularly preferably about 1 to 10%.

At the lower part and the upper part of the housing 18 in FIG. 3, an entrance 20 and an exit 21 through which the photosensitive material S passes respectively
Are formed. The inlet 20 is located below the level of the bleach-fix solution 30 in the bleach-fix tank 3, and the outlet 21 is located above the level of the bleach-fix solution 30.

At the inlet 20, a pair of blades 22 similar to the above are installed with their tips facing the inside of the processing chamber 19.

A locking member 23 and a spacer 24 similar to those described above are fixed to the housing 18, and the locking member 23 is hooked and locked on the upper end of the bleach-fixing tank 3 to lock the housing 18. Is removably attached to the bleach-fixing tank 3.

The liquid supply pipe 61 has the tip thereof in the processing chamber 1.
It is installed so as to communicate with 9. A liquid supply pipe 61 is provided.

In the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1B, as shown by the arrow in FIG.
After passing through the crossover roller 53, the entrance 10 of the housing 8
Through the processing chamber 9, descends and is immersed in the bleach-fixing solution 31, further enters the bleach-fixing solution 30 through the space between the blades 12 installed at the outlet 11, and reverses and rises by the guide 52. After passing between the blades 22 and entering the bleach-fixing solution 32, it is further lifted up from the bleach-fixing solution 33, passes through the outlet 21,
Then, the process proceeds to the next washing tank 4.

In such processing, the liquid supply pipe 61
When a new bleach-fixing solution is supplied from the processing chamber 19, the level of the bleach-fixing solution 32 in the processing chamber 19 rises above the level of the bleach-fixing solution 30, and the head difference causes the bleaching in the processing chamber 19 to occur. The fixing solution 32 flows into the bleach-fixing solution 30 through a gap formed between the blades 22 when the photosensitive material passes.

In such a configuration, the degree of deterioration of the bleach-fixing solution 32 in the processing chamber 19 is smaller than that of the bleach-fixing solution 30. That is, bleach-fix solution 3
1, 30, and 32 have the degree of deterioration decreasing in this order. Thereby, compared with the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1A, the processing efficiency can be further improved and the replenishment amount and the drainage amount can be reduced.

In the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1B, the replenishment amount of the bleach-fixing solution is preferably about 20 to 80 ml, particularly preferably about 25 to 50 ml per 1 m ² of the photosensitive material. Such a replenishing amount is about 10 to 40% of the replenishing amount in the case where the conventional housings 8 and 18 are not provided, and even with such a replenishing amount, a processability equal to or higher than the conventional one is obtained. be able to.

It should be noted that a pair of blades similar to the blade 22 can be provided at the outlet 21 of the housing 18. Thereby, the squeezing effect of the blade is exerted, and the carry-in of the bleach-fixing solution 32 into the washing tank 4 is suppressed.

Further, a pair of blades similar to those described above may be provided in front of the entrance 10 of the housing 8, that is, in the aerial portion between the final transport roller 51 of the developing tank 2 and the crossover roller 53. it can. As a result, the squeeze function of the blade is exhibited, and the bleach-fix
1 is suppressed, and the replenishment amount, the drainage amount, and the processability can be further improved.

In the present invention, the housing 8 on the photosensitive material carry-out side may be installed without the photosensitive material carry-in side housing 8.

The bleach-fixing solutions 30, 31, and 32 are solutions containing both a bleaching agent and a fixing agent.

As the bleaching agent, for example, compounds or complex salts of polyvalent metals such as iron (III), cobalt (III), chromium (VI) and copper (II), peracids, quinones, nitro compounds and the like are used. . Representative bleaches include ferricyanide; dichromate; organic complexes of iron (III) or cobalt (III),
For example, aminopolycarboxylic acids such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid, methyliminodiacetic acid, 1,3-diaminopropanetetraacetic acid, and glycol ether diaminetetraacetic acid, or complex salts such as citric acid, tartaric acid, and malic acid; Persulfate; bromate; permanganate; nitrobenzenes and the like can be used. Of these, iron (III) complex salts of aminopolycarboxylic acid, such as iron (III) complex salt of propylenediaminetetraacetate, and persulfate are preferred from the viewpoint of rapid treatment and prevention of environmental pollution. Further, the aminopolycarboxylic acid iron (III) complex salt is particularly useful in a bleaching solution and a bleach-fixing solution.

Examples of the fixing agent include thiosulfates, thiocyanates, thioether compounds, thioureas, and a large amount of iodides. Thiosulfates are generally used. Sodium and ammonium thiosulfate are most typical.

In the above, an example in which the housings 8 and 18 are installed in the bleach-fixing tank 3 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to these, and a developing tank, a bleaching tank, a fixing tank, a washing tank, a stabilizing tank, a stopping tank, and a reversing tank are used. The same configuration can be applied to other processing tanks.

The photosensitive material processing apparatus 1C shown in FIG. 4 is an apparatus for processing a color negative film. The developing tank 25, the bleaching tank 26, the fixing tank 27, and the washing tank 28 are arranged from the left side in FIG.
And the stabilization tank 29 is juxtaposed in this order. In the photosensitive material processing apparatus 1C, the bleaching tank 26 and the fixing tank 2
7, the same casings 8 and 18 as those described above are detachably installed in the washing tank 28 and the stabilizing tank 29, respectively.

In the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, the type of the photosensitive material S to be processed is not particularly limited, and may be either a color or black-and-white photosensitive material. For example, color negative film, color reversal film, color positive film, color photographic paper, color reversal photographic paper, photographic photosensitive material for plate making, X-ray photographic material, black and white negative film, black and white photographic paper, black and white reversal photographic paper, photosensitive material for micro And the like.

The photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention includes, for example, various photosensitive material processing apparatuses such as an automatic developing machine, a wet type copier, a printer processor, a video printer processor, a photo print making coin machine, and a color paper processing machine for plate inspection. Can be applied to

Although the configuration examples of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0073]

As described above, according to the light-sensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention, the amount of replenishment and drainage of a processing solution, particularly a processing solution used for processing after development can be reduced with a simple structure. In addition to obtaining good photographic properties, it contributes to downsizing of the apparatus.

Further, since the housing is detachable, the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention can be easily obtained by attaching it to a processing tank of an existing photosensitive material processing apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional side view showing a configuration example of a photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the photosensitive material processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional side view showing another configuration example of the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional side view showing another configuration example of the photosensitive material processing apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS 1A, 1B, 1C Photosensitive material processing apparatus 2 Developing tank 3 Bleaching and fixing tank 30, 31, 32 Bleaching and fixing liquid 4 Rinse tank 51 Conveying roller 52 Guide 53 Crossover roller 61 Supply pipe 62 Drain pipe 7 Heater 8, 18 9, 19 Processing chamber 10, 20 Inlet 11, 21 Outlet 12, 22 Blade 120 Gap 13 Drain pipe 14 Drain port 15 Connector 16, 23 Locking member 17, 24 Spacer 25 Developing tank 26 Bleaching tank 27 Fixing tank 28 Rinse Tank 29 Stabilization tank

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A photosensitive material processing apparatus for processing a silver halide photographic material by passing the same through a processing tank filled with a processing solution, wherein the apparatus is detachable from a side of the processing tank where the silver halide photographic photosensitive material is carried in. A housing in which a processing chamber for storing the processing liquid is formed, a drain port installed inside the housing, and an outlet of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the housing, A blade disposed to shield the outlet. 2. A photosensitive material processing apparatus for processing a silver halide photographic material by passing the same through a processing tank filled with a processing solution, wherein the processing apparatus is detachable from the silver halide photographic material discharge side of the processing tank. A housing in which a processing chamber for storing the processing liquid is formed; a liquid supply port for supplying a new processing liquid to the processing chamber; and an inlet for the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material in the housing. And a blade installed so as to shield the entrance.